


Won't Even Notice

by sorteparaplyer



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Abandonment, Alternate Canon, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Guilt, Implied/Referenced Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-15 00:33:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18063176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sorteparaplyer/pseuds/sorteparaplyer
Summary: Canon divergent take on Man on the Moon in an effort to play a little more with Klaus' abandonment issues. Klaus doesn't escape from the motel room but it's also not Patch who squares off with Hazel and Cha-Cha that night.





	Won't Even Notice

“No one is going to rescue me,” Klaus giggles. “They won’t even notice I’m gone. If anyone does they’ll say, ‘oh where’d Klaus fuck off to? Oh well, I don’t care’ and go about their lives. It’s hilarious really. I’m utterly useless to you!” 

The one in the bear mask pistol-whips him again, leaving another welt on his jaw. “We’ll see about that,” he grits.

The rabbit mask just sighs. “Let’s try waterboarding again.”

It’s funny, Klaus can’t die and so all the water down his throat does nothing but give him a much needed drink. From behind him he hears groans of exasperation. He’s been tied up in this motel room for over ten hours now and even though it hurts like hell he thinks torture’s not _so_ bad.

“I think he prefers good old-fashioned punching.”

“Go on then.”

Klaus screams and blood drips onto his chest.

 

Hours later, Klaus begins to change his tune. He still insists that he has no information and he’s no good as bait, but this time it doesn’t seem so funny. “Please let me go,” he begs. “Please. No one’s coming for me. I’m useless. Please…”

“Five’s gonna need some incentive,” bear mask mutters.

“We’ll leave him a little message, give him a hint.” Rabbit mask rifles through some things on the bedside table. “Go put this in his van,” she tells the other one. “Not where that detective might see it. Somewhere on the inside.”

“Then what’ll we do?”

“We’ll wait.”

“Are you sure?”

“Go!” rabbit mask barks. “Do it. Get out of here. When you get back we can beat the shit out of him. Pass the time.”

“That’d be nice. Then Italian food?”

Klaus sleeps a little while he can. It’s hard with the rabbit mask lady in the room but luckily he’s never been more exhausted.

 

Klaus groans as his eyelids flutter open. He hurts everywhere. It’s not just the familiar bone-deep ache of dopesickness. There’s sharp pain, hot pain, throbbing pain. It feels like it’s engulfing him. He squeezes his eyes closed against the pounding in his head. A wave of nausea comes and then subsides.

“You’re awake.”

“Ben.” Klaus’ voice is barely there, sticking in his dry throat. “Ben, what happened?”

“They beat you. You passed out. I’m glad you don’t remember it honestly… Then something went down. There must have been a fight.”

He can tell from the sound of Ben’s voice that he’s walking around the motel room, checking things out. From his position on the floor all Klaus can see is the dusty dark carpet under the bed. The chair must have tipped over at some point. He only remembers being upright in the center of the room. “A fight?” he asks weakly.

“I don’t know. That’s what it looks like. I go offline when you lose consciousness, remember? That must have been when it happened.” There’s a pause. “Wait. Klaus, look at this.”

Klaus struggles against the tape around his wrists, trying to rock the chair back so that his head isn’t crammed against the bedside table. He doesn’t seem to be getting anywhere though and the attempts are wracking his body with pain. After a minute he gives up. “Describe it to me.”

“It’s one of Diego’s knives. There’s holes in the wall where the knives must have been thrown. This one got left behind.”

“Diego was here?”

Ben doesn’t say anything.

“Diego was here but he didn’t… he didn’t rescue me.”

“We don’t know what happened. Cha-Cha and Hazel are gone too.”

“He left me here.” Klaus coughs a dry sob. “He came just like they said he would. But he didn't come for me. He didn’t even call me an ambulance.”

Ben is silent. Ben is always silent when there’s nothing to say.

And then Klaus is crying, sobbing even though it hurts his ribs and his throat and his head. Sobbing even though he barely has the strength for it.

“Someone will come,” Ben says. “Someone will have to clean the room in the morning.”

Like he’s garbage to be cleared away along with the food wrappers and dirty bed sheets. 

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Go away, Ben,” Klaus whispers.

 

When Klaus wakes up again there’s flashlight beams in his face, blinding him and making him shake with fear. 

“It’s okay now. You’re gonna be okay. The ambulance is on its way, they’re gonna get you patched up.”

Klaus doesn’t know the voice. It’s not the cleaning lady. It isn’t morning yet. “Who…?”

“Detective Patch,” she says. “Eudora.”

“Hurts…”

“I know. Hang in there.”

 

This time Klaus wakes up in a hospital bed. His wounds have been bandaged and he’s been dressed in a white gown–more clothing than he’s worn in days. The curtains have been mercifully drawn against a bright midday sun. A woman is sitting in a chair in the corner of the room.

“Oh, you’re awake,” she says. “You probably don’t remember–my name’s Eudora. I’m afraid I need to ask you some questions.”

Klaus just nods tiredly.

Her lips purse as she looks at him. “First of all, can you tell me your name?”

“Klaus. Klaus Hargreeves.”

“Hargreeves? Are you related to Diego?”

“Oh, he’s my brother. As in… O brother, where art thou…”

“Your-? Oh. I have to call him.”

She’s halfway to the nurse’s station before Klaus can open his mouth to tell her not to bother.

 

Diego must’ve been in the neighborhood because he shows mere minutes after the detective calls him. He puts on a good act of brotherly concern too, his big brown eyes wide and glassy. “Klaus, what happened?”

“I already told the detective.”

“Well why don’t you tell me too.”

“Read it in the police report.”

“Dude, what’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing,” Klaus moans. He scrubs his hands over his eyes. “It would just be realllllly nice to be full of drugs right now.”

“They can’t give you anything because you’re an addict.”

Klaus is silent for a minute. Then he blurts, “why did you leave me?”

“What?”

“In the motel room, you didn’t come back for me.” Klaus feels his chest tighten in spite of himself. “I know you were there, I could tell. You-you left me.”

Diego’s face twists. “I didn’t know you were in there. I didn’t see you.” 

“Bullshit!”

Diego puts his hands up placatingly. “They shot at me and I ran out of the room. They followed me and we fought outside. I never got a chance to go back to the room, look it over. I lost one of my knives too.” He looks at Klaus. “I promise I would never have left you there.”

“You did.” Klaus’ voice is so small it’s almost a whisper.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Klaus.”

“No one noticed I was missing, did they?”

“That’s not fair, Klaus. You’ve always come and gone whenever you wanted.”

“You don’t take a headcount after psycho murderers shoot up our house?”

Diego sinks down into the chair at Klaus’ bedside. He looks over Klaus’ body like it hurts him to do it, but he doesn’t look away. “I’ll do a better job of protecting you from now on. Is that what you want to hear? I’ll try my best to make sure you’re safe.”

“Don’t abandon me.”

“I won’t abandon you.”

Klaus nods, letting his eyes fall to the sheets. “Don’t let anyone abandon me. Or forget me.”

“I’ll try my best.”


End file.
